


The Poison In Our Veins

by Aini_NuFire



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drug Addiction, Episode: s02e10 By the Light of Dawn, Friendship, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Alec Lightwood, Parabatai Feels, Recovery, Sick Alec Lightwood, Valentine's injections, Worried Jace Wayland, Worried Magnus Bane, Yin Fen, feels all around, for both Lightwoods, sick Isabelle Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-04-27 08:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14421426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aini_NuFire/pseuds/Aini_NuFire
Summary: Sometimes darkness is thrust upon us without our doing or consent. And the fight to come back from it can be just as breaking.AU 2x10 - What if Valentine had found Alec in the elevator Madzie threw him in?





	1. Contingencies Upon Contingencies

**Author's Note:**

> A what-if I thought of when re-watching 2x10. What if Valentine had found Alec in the elevator Madzie threw him in? And then things spiraled off from there.
> 
> Disclaimer: Not mine. Some lines from episode 2x10 "By the Light of Dawn"; they're not mine, either. Thanks to 29Pieces for beta reading!

 

The alarm was blaring, red flashing from all the light fixtures, and the message "Wards Breach" displayed boldly on every screen and monitor.

"I thought these wards were airtight," Aldertree demanded.

Alec ignored the useless comment. They'd been breached, and dealing with the threat was more important than grousing about how it happened.

"How many soldiers are here?" he asked, checking his bow as he surveyed the op center. His team of archers assembled behind him.

"Only two dozen. Everyone else is out dealing with the Downworld attacks," Aldertree replied.

Alec had to wonder if that had been the plan all along. Divide and conquer.

"I'll take the entry with Longford."

"We'll cover the weapons room," Aldetree said as their group split.

"Valentine's work?" Longford asked.

"Only one way to find out," Alec replied grimly.

The doors to the foyer suddenly slid open, revealing three shadowhunters sprawled on the floor in the entryway. And in the middle was the last thing Alec had expected to see.

He put his arm out to keep his men back. "Hold your fire."

Longford already had an arrow nocked to his bow, poised to shoot. "What's a little girl doing here all alone?"

"She's a warlock," Alec explained. She must have breached their wards. But why? Was she looking for Clary? Iris Rouse had called upon her blood oath, tasking Clary with finding Madzie. But Madzie was supposedly with Valentine, wasn't she?

Alec cautiously approached her, leery of the fact that there were three shadowhunter guards knocked down in the foyer and that this little girl had just waltzed into the Institute like this. Madzie stepped into the op center, letting the inner doors close behind her.

"Madzie," Alec said carefully. "Did you…?"

She just gazed up at him for a prolonged moment, and then waved her hand. Alec was flung off his feet and through the air into the nearby elevator, the doors closing with a ding. A second later, he could hear the sounds of his men in distress, a discordant chorus of ragged gasping and choking. He pulled himself up and immediately tried to wedge his fingers between the doors to pry them open, but they didn't budge.

"Madzie!" Alec slammed his fists on the doors. "Madzie!"

The sounds outside were dying down, and that filled Alec's heart with a surge of panic. He tried again to pull the doors open. The coughing and gurgling ceased.

_No!_

"Madzie!" he tried one last time, and punched the door in frustration. She wasn't going to listen to him.

He pushed himself backward and started looking for another way out. Yet before he could reach up to dislodge the ceiling panel and access the escape hatch, the doors dinged and slid open. Alec froze for a split second as none other than Valentine Morgenstern stood before him.

Alec's bow was on the floor, and he made a move to scoop it up, but Valentine was quicker, and had the Soul Sword pointed at his throat before he could reach his weapon.

Valentine looked him up and down. "Ah, the Lightwood boy. My son's parabatai."

Alec swallowed, calculating his chances if he tried to disarm Valentine. But there were several Circle members there with him…and Madzie. Dammit, she  _was_  working with them.

Valentine cocked his head at his men, and two stepped forward to seize Alec. He gave a half-hearted struggle on principle, but he was outnumbered. They dragged him out of the elevator, and his stomach dropped at the sight of his team collapsed on the floor, some with vacant eyes open at nothing. Alec snapped his gaze to Madzie, to…what? Silently plead with her?

Valentine apparently noted the look, and his eyes narrowed a fraction as he glanced between Alec and the child.

"Madzie, sweetheart," he said, tone deceptively gentle. "Do you know this shadowhunter?"

Madzie looked up at Alec. She didn't say anything, but there was a hesitant vulnerability in her eyes.

"Is he your friend?" Valentine continued, crouching down beside her.

Alec didn't know what his game was, but he had no intention of playing. "Madzie, he's using you."

Valentine shot him a dark glower, but quickly smoothed it away before turning back to Madzie and reaching out to pat her shoulder. "Tell you what, sweetheart. This young man is also a friend of my son's, and I think it would be a good idea if we made sure he was safe while we take care of things here. What do you say? Will you create a portal so a couple of my men can take him somewhere he'll be safe until we're done?"

Alec's eyes widened. "Madzie, no—"

She gave him a wavering look, and then held her palm out to the side as a portal swooshed into existence.

Alec struggled against his captors, but they had activated their strength runes, and he hadn't yet.

Valentine stood up, gaze hardening again. "Take him to the garage," he instructed. "Oh, and, give him the same special treatment as our other guest."

Alec didn't have a chance to wonder what that meant before he was swallowed up by the portal.

As soon as they exited the other side, Alec tried to throw off his captors. But if he was hoping for better odds, he was sorely disappointed. Valentine had apparently not brought his whole contingent of new shadowhunters to the Institute, and there were several more at whatever hideout this was.

He managed to elbow one Circle member in the stomach, but three more moved forward to help restrain him.

"Hold him still," the one he'd elbowed snarled. "And grab an injection."

Wait,  _what_?

Alec bucked and tried to twist away, but there were too many. One kicked out the backs of his knees, driving him to the ground. Without proper leverage, he was quickly trapped in a headlock by one and his right arm torqued back and up to its breaking point. He let out a strangled cry as the nerve endings pinched.

Valentine's lieutenant marched toward him, holding up a syringe with some kind of black liquid inside. Alec's heart seized.

"No—"

His head was wrenched to the side painfully, exposing his neck. He felt a sharp prick, and then  _fire_  splashed into his veins. He choked on a garbled cry as molten liquid crept up his face, spotting his vision and feeling as though it was worming its way into his brain. It burrowed downward, also, his muscles spasming as it overwhelmed him.

"Lock him up."

Alec was released from the headlock and hauled up by both his arms. He couldn't even formulate a thought of fighting back before he was thrown unceremoniously onto cold concrete. There was a rattle of chain links and something was closed behind him. Alec curled up on his side as Valentine's poison began to permeate every cell and slowly dismantle him.

* * *

Jace walked right through the doors into the Institute, glamoured as Clary where he was immediately grabbed by two Circle members.

"Tell Valentine I'm here," he bit out sharply while a third patted him down for weapons. He'd come in unarmed, though.

The only weapon he needed tonight was his own blood. Demon blood.

Finally, some good would come from the corruption that ran through his veins. And it didn't matter that touching the Soul Sword and destroying it would kill him, too. It was better that way. Jace would get an honorable death, one worthy of his kind rather than the abomination his father had made of him.

He would take the fate Valentine had cursed him with from birth and fashion something different. Destiny would be on his terms, not Valentine's.

And Clary would be safe; the Downworld would leave her alone after this. As long as she and his family were all right, then this would all be worth it.

Jace held his head high when Valentine strolled out.

"Hello, my dear."

He had to keep up the part he was playing, though, so he struggled uselessly against the shadowhunters holding his arms and demanded in Clary's voice, "Where's Simon? Before I do anything, I need to know he's alive."

"But I'm afraid you may have waited too long," Valentine tsked.

Jace's heart clenched, not for any love lost between him and the vampire, but because Clary cared about him. "Where is he?" he growled.

Valentine smirked, and cocked his head. Jace was released, and he tightened his jaw as he fell into step to be escorted through the Institute. He cast his gaze around the op center and corridors they passed. The bodies of his fallen comrades had been shoved to the sides, but he didn't spot Alec or Izzy. That didn't encourage him so much, though, and Jace had to resist the urge to rub at his parabatai rune.

Valentine led him to Aldertree's office and opened the door, entering first. Jace followed, and pulled up short at the sight of Simon slumped on the couch, head hanging forward as blood trickled slowly from his mouth and the gash on his neck. His entire front was drenched in blood, so much so that there was probably barely left in his body. Slight whistling wheezed from his lips.

"Simon." Jace immediately whipped his gaze to the desk where a letter opener was laid out, and he snatched it up without hesitation. "Hold on, okay?" He crossed the room, sitting next to the vampire and drawing the sharp instrument along his wrist.

"Stay with me, Simon."

They couldn't lose him now. Clary was gonna need someone to look out for her when Jace was gone. But when he held his bleeding wrist to the vampire's mouth, Simon barely stirred.

"Simon, please," Jace urged.

The vampire opened his eyes to slits and just looked at him. Jace knew he was seeing Clary's face…and wouldn't drink from her. Jace would admire that kind of noble resolve if it wasn't currently messing up his plan.

"Come on," he said, practically shoving his wrist into Simon's mouth. "Come on, Simon." Couldn't the vampire smell that Jace's blood had demonic contaminants in it? Maybe his brain was too addled to realize that Jace wasn't actually Clary.

Simon rocked his head back and looked at him again. The stubborn fool.

"Simon, drink," Jace commanded, going for the tone Clary always seemed to use to get her way.

Simon grunted as he shook his head.

"Come on. It's okay. Feed."

"Careful, Clarissa," Valentine spoke up.

Jace ignored him. He was going to save Simon for Clary if it was the last thing he did.

Which, in the back of his mind, he knew  _shouldn't_  be the last thing he did. The last thing he needed to do was touch the Soul Sword and destroy it, thereby saving the entire Downworld.

But the moment Simon finally sank his teeth into Jace's wrist, all those thoughts flew away in the wave of sheer ecstasy that flooded through Jace. He threw his head back, overwhelmed by the pure euphoria. A tear slid down his face.

Simon shot a hand up to latch onto his arm, drinking more greedily as survival instinct finally kicked in.

"He's drinking too much," Valentine spoke up.

Jace couldn't bring himself to care.

"Stop him. Stop him!"

Two shadowhunters rushed forward and pulled Simon away. Jace swayed as the vamp's teeth scraped through his shapeshifting rune, and the glamour faded. Simon was panting heavily as his eyes widened on Jace.

Well, so much for carrying that ruse through till the end.

Jace angled an exhausted look up at Valentine, who merely regarded him with a tense expression that wasn't very surprised.

"Shapeshifting, huh?" Valentine smirked. He rolled his eyes. "Well, that's original."

Jace got to his feet. The bliss from the vampire venom, though potent, at least wore off quickly, and he was swiftly regaining his senses. "I learned from the best."

Valentine turned back around. "No, you didn't. I would never willingly let a vampire taste my blood."

Yeah, before today, Jace would never have, either. But hey, his blood was already tainted, so what did it matter?

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Valentine demanded angrily.

"I saved a life," Jace rejoined. And that, he was not ashamed of, no matter the method.

"A monster's life," Valentine countered. "And for what? He's just gonna die with the rest of the Downworld, anyway."

Not if Jace had anything to say about it. Yet before he could formulate a new plan, Simon suddenly lunged from the couch, tackling Valentine with vampire speed and knocking him to the ground. Valentine's sword clattered across the floor, and Jace quickly snatched it up. He whirled on the two guards, ducking under one's swing and slicing through the second.

Pivoting, he locked blades with the first, grunting as each struggled for the upper hand. But Jace was better trained than these new shadowhunters who'd only been created a few weeks ago. He grabbed the man's arm to keep his sword at bay while sliding his blade away and slashing his stomach. Jace then followed through with a thrust into the heart.

He let the body drop and went to the wall where a decorative knife was mounted. Plucking it from its display, he shouted at Simon. "Here!"

Simon caught the toss easily.

"We have to destroy the sword," Jace said, turning for the door. "Come on."

Apprehending Valentine wouldn't be enough, and so Jace left the man temporarily knocked out on the floor. Destroying the Soul Sword was of the utmost importance, to end this once and for all.

"Nice moves back there," he said over his shoulder.

"Thanks," Simon replied. "I've been practicing."

Jace would have rolled his eyes, but he was too focused on carefully making his way through the Institute. Valentine would have had more Circle members spread out, so they needed to be on guard. His heart hammered with anticipation, both for what he knew he had to do, and at the hope that he would find Alec and Izzy and they'd be okay.

He finally let himself spare a sliver of attention for his parabatai rune. It wasn't gone, so Alec wasn't dead. But there was something…earlier, Jace had thought maybe his own emotions were too high-strung for him to sense anything clearly, but now it felt…not weakened, but blunted. Maybe Alec was unconscious somewhere, which did  _not_  bode well for Jace's nerves, and he was left torn between abandoning his mission to find his brother, and seeing it through, even though it would mean his death.

"Hey, about, you know," Simon spoke up quietly. "What happened back there…"

Jace was only half listening as he rounded a corner and pressed himself up against the wall. Out in the War Room, part of the assembly area had been cleared and what looked like a generator set up in the middle of the floor with a bunch of cables connected to it. And inside it was the Soul Sword, wreathed in sizzling waves of stored electricity.

"I've heard of blood thirst, even felt it," Simon rambled on. "But…never that badly. Once I started feeding, I couldn't stop. I'm really sorry."

Jace shook his head as he finally turned to face the vampire. "Don't apologize."

"I would have killed you," Simon said, and there was such genuine remorse and regret in his eyes that made him more human than Valentine ever was, even with the blood smeared all down his neck in macabre grotesqueness. He didn't just lament the idea that he could have bled Clary dry; Simon Lewis was grieved by the idea of doing that to anyone.

Moisture pricked at Jace's eyes. "I would have let you," he confessed. In that moment of euphoria, there had been no more pain, no more weight of the burden he carried as Valentine's son, as his failed experiment. Jace could have slipped away on a river of peace and been done with it all.

At least Valentine's sense did save him from making that mistake. Jace turned his attention back to the shadowhunters guarding the sword.

"You, like, rescued me from actual death," Simon went on. "So, thanks. A lot."

"Hey, you know how you can thank me?" Jace interrupted. "Shut up."

Simon blinked. "Right."

They both peered into the War Room.

"Looks like they have the sword tapped into that power thing."

"Not for long," Jace assured him. He pulled out his phone to send the signal for everyone to get ready. Once done, he shoved his cell back into his pocket, and noticed Simon leaning too far out to get a look.

"Hey," he hissed, nudging him back out of view. What he wouldn't give for Alec to be at his back. "You know how to use that?" Jace asked, flicking a pointed look at the knife.

"Yeah, just point and stab, right?" Simon replied, jabbing the blade at him.

Jace glanced down at the knife and tried to hold back a sigh. He pushed the blade away with his finger. "Use your vamp speed."

"Obviously."

Jace shook his head. "As soon as we get back up, we move in."

Simon's eyes widened. "It might be too late for that."

Jace peered around the corner in alarm as he saw Valentine dragging Clary into the War Room. " _No_." Dammit, what was she doing here? That wasn't part of the plan!

"Let me go!" Clary yelled. "No. You can't make me do this."

Jace yanked his phone back out and slapped Simon's arm. "Go." He typed out a hasty text to Luke, letting him know they had to come in,  _now_.

He heard the cries of the Circle members as Simon slew them. Guess practicing those moves had paid off, after all.

Jace took a deep, steadying breath, and marched into the War Room. Simon had Clary and was already escorting her out, but she pulled up short as Jace passed them.

"Jace. What…?"

He ignored her, striding right up to the Soul Sword and dropping his seraph blade with a clang.

"Jace, what are you doing?"

He swallowed hard, wondering if it would hurt.

"Jace!" Clary shouted, and he couldn't help but turn around to look at her. There were tears in her eyes as they pleaded with him. She shook her head. "Don't. If you touch the sword, it'll kill you."

His own eyes watered. Out of everything he was facing, seeing that kind of pain on Clary's face was one of the worst to bear. But he had to do this. He turned back to the sword.

"Jace, don't do it! No, Jace!"

He gripped the hilt and wrenched the blade free. But instead of the sword shattering or disintegrating into dust, it began to glow. Jace's eyes widened with confusion a split second before his blood ignited with a bolt of energy and he was thrown backward with a jolt that flung him into darkness.


	2. What We Sacrifice

Isabelle glanced at the clock, then at the door. She jiggled her leg. Raphael hadn't said how long he'd be gone at this meeting. How long had it been since he'd left?

She got up and started to pace. When would he be back? She needed him, needed…she needed his help. Stumbling, she sank against the back of the couch and gripped her shaking hand.

_Keep it together_ , she chastised herself.  _You're stronger than this_.

Maybe there was something that could tide her over until Raphael got back. Isabelle spotted the array of liquor on the serving table, and shakily hobbled toward it. Her hand trembled so badly that the glass stopper clinked in the bottle. She swallowed convulsively, trying to will herself to be more steady, when she was distracted by the sound of a phone vibrating. Probably hers. Maybe it was Raphael saying he was on his way.

Isabelle followed the sound, and frowned in confusion when she found her phone set on top of the highest shelf. She wouldn't have even been able to reach it without her heels. Why would Raphael have put it up there?

She stared at the screen in dismay. There were four missed calls from Jace, and seventeen unread text messages.

_"Valentine's invaded Institute. Are u there?"_

_"Alec's not answering."_

_"Where r u?"_

A new notification popped up of a voice message. Isabelle swiped to listen.

"Izzy," Jace's voice came through with a whisper. "You and Alec had better be okay, dammit." He let out a shuddering breath. "Valentine's going to try to activate the Soul Sword with the Institute's angelic core, but I'm going to stop him. If I touch the sword, my demon blood will destroy it." He paused. "Listen, if I don't get the chance to find you first…I love you both. Take care of Alec." The message ended with a click.

Panic filled Isabelle's veins with horror and adrenaline. What the hell did Jace mean by that? And Valentine had invaded the Institute? Oh god, where was Alec?

Isabelle whirled and scrambled for the door. There were no vampires to be seen as she hurried downstairs and onto the street, which she might have thought strange, but her heart was racing with too much worry for her brothers. She should have been there. She should have been there to help them. Why had she been so self-absorbed to at least not  _check_  her phone…?

Realization slammed into her so hard she nearly tripped. Raphael had checked her phone for her. All those messages… Isabelle frantically dug her cell out as she continued to run, glancing at the time stamps. They'd started over an hour ago. When Raphael had looked at her phone and then suddenly declared he had a meeting to go to.  _Why_  would he keep this from her?

She pushed those confusing questions aside and focused on her mission. Get to the Institute. Get to her brothers.

Her muscles were on fire with the desperate need for venom, yet some of the adrenaline rush was counteracting the withdrawal symptoms. Isabelle ran as hard as she could.

She had just reached the Institute when blinding light blazed through every single window like a sun had gone supernova inside. Her heels skidded on the concrete as she lurched to a stop. No, it couldn't be…

Raised voices snapped her out of her daze, and Isabelle hurried toward the front entrance where she found a young black woman—the one she'd saved Jace from—yelling at Luke.

"Jace led us into a trap!"

"He wouldn't do that!" Luke insisted. "It had to have been Valentine."

Isabelle spotted Meliorn, leaning on his spear and clutching his side. He looked over at her approach, expression grave with grief and a resigned resolve that sent a chill up her spine.

"Well, he has the sword now," the woman snapped back. "Which means he could do it again. I'm taking him down."

Luke lashed out to grab her arm. "Maia! The pack needs you. Go back to the Jade Wolf," he ordered. "Keep what's left of the pack indoors. Take them underground. I'll deal with Valentine."

The young woman's jaw was tight, but she didn't try to wrench away, and Luke released her. He turned, started in surprise at Isabelle, and then gave her a clipped nod before hurrying away.

Isabelle looked at Meliorn in horror. "What happened?"

His answer was only a glimmer of sadness in his eyes.

"What happened is your brother helped murder a bunch of downworlders," the female werewolf snapped. "We never should have trusted him." She shook her head. "I never should have talked Raphael out of killing Clary."

Isabelle's blood turned to ice.  _What_? Was that- was that what Raphael was doing here? So when he lied to Isabelle, hid her phone…he hadn't just been trying to keep her safe because he cared about her. He'd wanted to keep her out of the way while he and the rest of the Downworld tried to kill her friend.

Isabelle felt sick. She'd trusted him,  _felt_  something for him! He even said he felt something for her in return. And he'd betrayed her in the worst way imaginable, by sacrificing her family. By causing  _her_  to sacrifice her family.

Alec was missing and Jace had sounded like he was going to do something reckless…and now Valentine had activated the Soul Sword…

Isabelle clambered up the steps to the Institute and burst inside, terrified of what she might find within.

* * *

_"You don't have demon blood, Jace."_

Jace's head was reeling. How could this have happened? Touching the sword was supposed to  _destroy_  it! Because he had demon blood. Valentine  _told_  him he had demon blood.

_You don't have demon blood_.

All those downworlders…Jace had sworn to  _protect_  them. And he'd ended up being the instrument of their destruction instead. His blood wasn't poison, but Valentine had still made sure he was used that way.

Jace ran through the cemetery outside the Institute, hell-bent on hunting Valentine down and making him pay for what he'd done. There would be no mercy this time. Valentine had made him a murderer, so that's what he would be.

He vaulted over a tombstone and swung his blade in time to block the killing blow Valentine had been prepared to deliver to Luke, who was naked on the ground and bleeding. No more downworlders would die tonight.

Adamas screeched as the blades grated against each other. Valentine grabbed Jace's wrist and wrenched his weapon to the side. Jace did the same to him, and for a brief second they were in a deadlock. But then Valentine torqued Jace's wrist, and he dropped his seraph blade.

He didn't need the weapon, though, not with the rage and fury erupting inside him. Jace surged forward and grabbed his father by the collar of his jacket, his other hand barely keeping the Soul Sword away from his own chest. "Liar!" he screamed. "You told me I had demon blood. Why?"

"Because that's how you are," his father sneered. "Always ready to right the wrong, to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves. A real-life hero."

Jace could only stare incredulously. Anger flared up anew so much that he was vibrating with it. "So you used me."

"I just made sure Dot overheard me," Valentine shrugged. "That's why I left her behind, so you would  _come_  to  _save_  the day."

"And activate the sword instead," Jace finished. "You didn't inject me with demon blood. It was  _angel_  blood!"

All this time, Jace had thought there was something wrong with him, a darkness he couldn't help because it was in his very blood. Only, it wasn't.

"You are my greatest achievement, Jace," Valentine said, eyes full of self-gratified pride. It filled Jace with crushing disappointment and pain that his father could be so cruel as to manipulate his children this way.

"I'm not your achievement. I'm your son!" Jace's voice broke.

Valentine stared back at him, and there was finally a flicker of equally strained emotion in his eyes. "No, you are not my son," he said shakily, as though it pained him. "I'm not your father. Jocelyn is not your mother. And Clary- Clary is  _not_  your sister."

Jace gaped at him in stunned disbelief. Even after everything…Valentine was still trying to mess with his head. "More lies."

"Don't I wish," Valentine responded…and damn if he didn't sound as though he actually  _meant_  it. "Truth sword, remember?"

Jace's eyes whipped to the sword in Valentine's hands. No…

"And here's another truth for you," Valentine went on. "I have your parabatai."

The oxygen stole from Jace's lungs as the sword remained dormant, appeased by the truth of the words. Valentine suddenly pushed Jace back, making him stumble, and swung the Soul Sword at him. Jace barely ducked in time, instinct taking over as he caught Valentine's arm on the next swing and they grappled. Jace head butted him, then threw a punch that had enough momentum to send the sword flying from Valentine's hand.

Now they went hand-to-hand, both getting in an equal amount of blows and parries. Until finally Jace landed a kick to Valentine's chest that sent him sprawling on the ground. He darted for his seraph blade and snatched it up, whirling back and swinging it down, stopping a hair's breadth from Valentine's throat.

"Where's Alec?" he demanded.

"Jace!" Clary yelled, and came jogging over.

"Where is he?" Jace raged.

Valentine merely smirked up at him. "You'll have to let me go, Jace. Or you'll never see your parabatai again."

Clary let out a sharp breath. " _What_?"

Jace spared a brief moment to reach out through the bond again…but there was nothing there. No, that wasn't right. The bond was intact, but Alec's presence was…muffled.

Jace pressed the blade against Valentine's neck, nicking him enough to draw a thin line of blood. "What did you do with him?"

Valentine chuckled. "It is always nice to have a backup insurance policy. Give me the Soul Sword, and I'll make sure the Lightwood boy gets returned to you."

Jace clenched the hilt of his weapon tighter.

Clary put a hand on his arm. "Jace, we can't."

"He has Alec," he snapped.

"And we will get him back," she said earnestly. "But not this way. I already deactivated the Soul Sword. It's…" She shifted her gaze over his shoulder and gasped. "Jace. The sword's gone."

He whipped around to where he'd seen it get tossed, but there was no blade in sight. What the hell? He snapped his gaze to Valentine, wondering how he could have possibly pulled it off, but even Valentine looked perplexed by the sword's disappearance.

Jace clenched his jaw. They wouldn't let Valentine go. The man had proven he was too dangerous.

Jace just prayed he wasn't sacrificing his brother in the process.

* * *

Alec woke to a persistent throbbing behind his eyelids. His entire right side was chilled from laying on what felt like concrete, and he blinked groggily at his surroundings. He was in a cage in a dim building.

Pushing himself upright took more effort than he was comfortable with, and he reached up to touch the side of his neck, wincing at the bruise he felt there. Memory slowly trickled in, and he recalled being captured by Valentine and taken through a portal. Then he'd been injected with something.

He bit back a groan and scooted up against the wall to prop himself up. Valentine was at the Institute. Half a dozen shadowhunters were already dead. Alec rubbed his face, trying to dispel the thick fog that seemed to be shrouding his mind. He needed to get up, needed to start looking for a way out of here.

He roved his gaze around his makeshift cell. It wasn't a proper cage, more like a storage unit that just happened to be made of chainlink fencing and had a padlock on the door. There was even a separate section attached to the one he was in.

Alec tensed when he spotted a figure sitting with knees drawn up in the cage next to him. He had to squint against the harsh light—which really wasn't all that bright—until his eyes adjusted and he could make out a dark skinned woman with a mass of tight curls tied back in a messy ponytail. She had shadowhunter runes on her neck.

"Hello?" he called hoarsely.

The figure didn't move, didn't even look at him, but she did speak, "I'd say good morning, but only half of that statement would be true."

Alec furrowed his brow. There was the faint light of dawn creeping in through the windows. He studied his imprisoned companion surreptitiously for a few moments.

"You're Sister Cleophas," he deduced. So Valentine hadn't killed her like Luke thought.

She finally turned her head toward him, seeming surprised. "I am. And you are?"

"Alec Lightwood." He shifted his aching body, and grimaced. Everything hurt and he felt unusually lethargic. "What did they do to me?"

"Valentine's mind control injections," she replied. "Results of his experiments with demon blood."

Alec wanted to be horrified, and on some level he was, but it was buried under a transparent surface of detachment. He lolled his head and noticed faint gray lines around Cleophas's hairline.

"If it's mind control, why are you locked up?" Unless this was some kind of deceit, though Alec really couldn't fathom how at the moment.

"My blood is purified as an Iron Sister. Valentine's injections don't work as well on me."

Oh. Well, lucky her.

Cleophas suddenly scooted forward, pressing up against the chain links between their cages. "You have to fight it."

Alec almost let out a derisive snort. Of course he would fight it. He was not going to allow himself to be turned into some kind of puppet for Valentine. He was…he was…

Alec squeezed his eyes shut. He was what?

A door banged open, making him jump, much to his chagrin, and he blinked dazedly at the sound of heavy boots tromping across the floor. There was a rattle and a click. It took Alec a moment too long to realize someone had opened the door to his cage and was coming in. He tried to push himself up to fight.

"Hold still," they barked.

Rough hands shoved him against the chain fence, and every bone in his body was screaming at him to fight back. But for some reason, his limbs weren't getting the message, and he just stood there while a Circle member jabbed a needle into his neck and depressed a plunger. Molten liquid coursed into his bloodstream, burning as it went, though not with the same level of intensity as the first time.

Alec's eyelids fluttered and he slowly sank back down onto the floor as the guard left, locking the door on his way out. Inky tendrils burrowed into his mind, whispering somnambulant lullabies of docility and compliance.

_Valentine._

_Valentine._

_Valentine._

" _Fight it,_ " a voice hissed.

Fight…what?


	3. The War Inside My Head

The sun had risen by the time Magnus returned to the Institute. He had taken Madzie to his friend Catarina where she would be safe for the time being. They'd have to figure out a long-term solution later, but right now, Magnus had more pressing matters.

Shadowhunters returning from patrol were pouring into the church, and Magnus filed in with them, craning his head back and forth as he sought out one particular shadowhunter. But he didn't spot Alec.

He pulled up short as soon as he came to the War Room, though, and saw in the adjoining cloister the utter devastation wrought by the Soul Sword. Dozens of downworlders lay scattered about, their skin boiled and cracked from the power of divine light. Magnus's heart constricted with anguish. So many faces he recognized…werewolves, vampires, Seelies.

He never should have left Clary when the two of them snuck into the Institute. She must have somehow touched the sword before Jace could get to it. And while Magnus was relieved that meant Jace hadn't perished, his heart still broke for the other lives lost.

And where was Alec? Magnus needed to find him, needed to know that he was all right.

He spotted Simon crouching down beside Alaric's body, reverently closing the man's eyes. Magnus was relieved to see that the boy had survived. After watching Valentine cut Simon's neck, he had feared the worst.

Magnus turned, and felt another jolt of elation at the sight of Raphael—oh, thank goodness his boy hadn't been caught in the wave. And he was talking to Isabelle, so surely that meant Alec was around here somewhere. Magnus started toward them, catching a snippet of their conversation.

"…I can explain."

Isabelle drew her hand back. "I don't want anything from you ever again."

Magnus sighed inwardly; it looked as though Isabelle had found out that Raphael had tried to kill Clary. He felt a pang of sadness for those two, but he'd also known from the start that their tangled relationship based on addiction was doomed.

Isabelle pivoted and stormed away from Raphael. Magnus stepped into her path.

"Isabelle, thank goodness you're all right. We've all been so worried."

She shifted her weight. "Yeah, I…wasn't here when the attack happened."

Right. Magnus knew where she'd been. "Have you seen Alec?" he asked.

Isabelle shook her head. "No. I haven't seen Jace or Clary, either…" She trailed off as her eyes drifted over his shoulder, and then widened.

Magnus turned just as Jace came striding into the Institute with Valentine Morgenstern in chains.

Aldertree met them in the entrance hall, and a moment later, Jace relinquished Valentine to some waiting guards. He then jogged into the op center toward them.

"Thank the angel, you got him," Isabelle breathed.

Jace didn't look relieved or triumphant, though. Instead, his expression was pinched in obvious distress and his eyes were on the verge of glassiness. Magnus's heart gave a pang for the young man.

"Jace, you tried to stop—"

"Alec's missing."

Magnus stiffened. "What do you mean 'missing'?"

"Valentine took him. Or, he had some of his men leave with Alec as soon as they invaded the Institute." Jace shook his head in mounting frustration. "Always planning for contingencies. Valentine wanted his freedom in exchange for Alec."

Magnus felt a weight like lead drop into his stomach. The clear answer to what happened was Valentine was still in custody. Which meant what for Alec?

"Maybe he's lying," Isabelle immediately put in.

Jace gave her an aggrieved look. "He was touching the Soul Sword when he told me."

Magnus suddenly forgot how to breathe. "Alright- tracking spell."

"I already tried," Jace replied. "I can't get a signal. Either they're near water or…"

He bristled. "Don't say it."

Jace's jaw ticked and his expression hardened. "Look, I will make Valentine tell me where Alec is. Okay? We'll find him."

With that, he stormed off, presumably to make good on his threat.

Magnus wondered how Valentine could have gotten Alec out of the Institute, especially when he had the sword and Simon as a hostage to worry about.

He straightened as an idea occurred to him. Perhaps Madzie would know, or at least be able to tell him where some of Valentine's other hiding places in the city were.

Magnus opened his mouth to say he had something to look into, but stopped when he noticed how pale Isabelle looked. She was gripping her hand tightly, but it wasn't enough to stop the persistent quaking. Of course, then there was  _that_.

"Are you all right?" Magnus asked gently, reaching out to lightly touch her arm.

She jerked away from him. "My brother has been kidnapped. Of course I'm not all right."

Magnus lowered his voice. "I meant about the other thing."

Isabelle dropped her arms to her sides and drew her shoulders back. "I'm fine. Right now the important thing is finding Alec."

Magnus agreed whole-heartedly, but he also knew how debilitating a yin fen addiction could be. Isabelle wouldn't be able to keep her feet for much longer without a fix.

He didn't point that out to her, though. It wouldn't help. Nothing would at this point. And so Magnus took a step back, and turned his focus to something he  _could_  do.

"I'm going to look into a potential way to find Alec," he said. "But call me as soon as you have something."

Isabelle gave a shaky nod, and he reluctantly turned away from her. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so neutral when he'd found out about Isabelle and Raphael; perhaps he should have taken a more active stance in trying to get them to stop, supported Alec when he tried to get his sister away from the Hotel Dumort. But he hadn't wanted to take sides on an issue that was between two consenting adults.

Between  _friends_. It wasn't taking sides if he was trying to do what was best for both of them. Now all he could hope was that he'd still get the chance to help them. After they got Alec back.

The church doors opened just as Magnus was exiting, and he pressed himself against the wall to make room for the stretcher being carried in.

"Oh, Lucian," he breathed, heart clenching at the sight of the Alpha werewolf laid out on the litter, a blood-soaked tourniquet wrapped around his abdomen.

"Magnus!" Clary exclaimed as she escorted the medics in. "Thank god you're okay. Madzie?"

"I got her out in time," he replied.

Clary gestured for the medics to keep going, then turned back to him. "Did you see Jace…?"

He nodded. "Valentine may be in custody, but the destruction he caused, and Alec…"

"We will find Alec," Clary said fervently. "I promise."

Magnus gave her a weak smile. "I know, Biscuit."

She shook her head to herself. "I just can't believe this happened. Valentine keeps manipulating us every step of the way, lying to Jace about his demon blood so he'd willingly try to sacrifice himself, and unknowingly activate the sword instead."

Magnus blinked in stupefaction. "Wait, but the vision from the angel…"

"The demon isn't Jace," Clary supplied. "He has angel blood, like me."

Magnus was stunned by the revelation. So that was what happened in there… "Jace must be devastated."

Clary nodded grimly. "He is. And with Alec missing…" She lifted her chin. "We stopped Valentine. We got Simon back, and we are going to get Alec back."

Magnus had to admire her tenacity. And it was true; Simon was alive, against all the odds. There was still hope. Speaking of which…

"You should catch up with Lucian," he said.

He was going to see about finding Alec.

* * *

Alec drifted in a haze of muted grays and smoldering heat. How could he be burning when he could simultaneously feel the frigidness of the concrete around him? Drugs, he reminded himself. Drugs that were trying to repress his will and bend it to another's. He couldn't let that happen.

But every time he tried to muster the energy to fight against it, the notion evaporated in an instant, leaving him tired and trying to remember what had been so important only a second before.

He heard shuffling in the space outside his cage, followed by rumbling voices.

"Valentine's been captured by the Institute," someone announced.

"At least he activated the Soul Sword," another spoke. "Several downworlders were destroyed in its glory."

"That's hardly enough," a third snapped. "Our mission is to rid the entire planet of their stain."

"Taking out the mongrels who thought the shadowhunters were protecting them is worth it. Half of the Institute's allies are now dead, and the rest of the Downworld won't trust them after this."

Alec stirred faintly as the words triggered something in him. Downworlder allies…Magnus was their ally, their friend. What if he had been there? No. No, there would be no reason for him to be there.

But then why had a bunch of other downworlders been at the Institute? Had word of Valentine's invasion spread? Had the Downworld rallied to stop him? What if Magnus had come to help?

Alec's heart began to pound erratically against his rib cage. If Magnus was dead… His chest hitched. No, he couldn't even bear that thought. Alec may die in this place, but he needed Magnus to be okay and alive.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" someone growled.

"We follow Valentine's standing orders and wait."

"What about him? He has access to the Institute. We can use him to free Valentine."

"He hasn't been on the injections long enough to ensure that level of obedience."

"We'll see."

Heavy boots clomped toward Alec, and then a shadow fell over him. He squinted as he looked up at the burly shadowhunter.

"You will return to the Institute and free Valentine from the Clave. Do you understand?"

_Yes_.

Alec pressed his mouth into a tight line. No way in hell would he let that word pass his lips. And while playing along might have been a way to secure a chance to escape, somehow he knew that if he gave even an inch, it would open the floodgates and he would be lost.

The darkness prodded at his mind, insistent and sinister, begging to differ with his declaration of refusal. Alec clenched his jaw and thought of Magnus, of his debonair smile and glittery eyeliner, fancy clothes and golden cat eyes. Alec would not help the man responsible for possibly killing the love of his life, the man who wanted to kill all warlocks.

Alec somehow found the wherewithal to lift his chin in defiance. "Go to hell."

The Circle member sneered at him, and then spun away. He came back a moment later with a syringe. "We'll give him double the dose," he said as he unlocked the cage door.

"You do that and you risk killing him," Sister Cleophas spoke up. "Valentine has those injections down to an exact science. Messing with the regimen could—"

"Shut up!" the man snarled. He barged into Alec's cage and dropped down to one knee in front of him.

Alec was too weak to do anything but sit there as the needle plunged into his neck again. He let out a pained cry as the fresh burst of ichor surged through him, worming its way through his blood like barbs digging in and trying to grow roots. Roots that felt as though they were gouging into his very soul and attempting to rip it to pieces.

Alec sucked in a ragged breath and squeezed his eyes shut. " _Facilis descensus Averno_ ," he murmured, clinging to the phrase he and Jace used to remind each other they couldn't be broken.

" _Facilis descensus…Averno_."

" _Facilis…descensus…Averno_."

He would not be broken.

* * *

Clary headed down to the prison cells in search of Jace. She was practically vibrating with thrilled elation at Simon's sudden and miraculous immunity to sunlight. After nearly losing him  _twice_  in the past couple of hours, relief coupled with this new development had her over the moon. Simon was alive—better than alive. And Luke was going to be okay.

She immediately sobered, however, as she approached the last cell on the block and found Jace inside, interrogating Valentine. Alec was still missing.

Izzy was standing outside the glass wall, arms wrapped tightly about herself, eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot.

"Hey," Clary said softly, coming to stand beside her. "Has Valentine said anything about Alec?"

"No."

"Where is he?" Jace demanded as he paced around Valentine, who was shackled to a chair in the center of the cell.

Valentine leaned his head back with a drawn out sigh. "How many times are we going to go through this? As long as I'm in here, your parabatai remains out there."

Clary flinched when Jace struck like a cobra, sucker punching Valentine across the jaw. The restraints kept him from toppling out of the chair.

Valentine leaned over and spat out a glob of blood and spittle. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Jace."

Jace planted his palms on the chair's armrests and loomed menacingly close. "The Inquisitor has been called from Idris. Do you really want to wait for her to arrive and start her own interrogation techniques? You're gonna wish you were dead after the Clave gets through with you."

Valentine let out a small chuckle and sneered up at him. "Oh, I look forward to seeing Imogen again. It's been a long time."

Clary watched tensely as Jace lowered his tone.

"Tell me where Alec is."

"I'm curious," Valentine replied, ignoring the question, "if you can feel him through the bond. I'm guessing not, given his condition, but I could be wrong."

Jace grabbed Valentine by his collar and shook him. "What did you do to him?" he raged.

Valentine smirked. "I take it I'm not wrong. I know what that void feels like, Jace. A gaping, festering hole that feels like it could eat you alive."

Clary started shaking her head. This had gone on long enough. She stormed around to the side door and pushed it open. "Jace," she said tersely, shooting him a stern look. She avoided eye contact with Valentine completely.

Jace's shoulders were heaving, but after a beat, he shoved away from Valentine and followed her out. She roughly shut the door behind them.

"You can't let him get to you," she said.

Jace slammed his hand against the stone wall. "He's right," he said, voice cracking. "I can't feel Alec through the bond."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything!" Jace spun on her, eyes wide and wild. "If I can't feel him, then that means that something's wrong. Really wrong."

Clary bit her tongue. She knew Jace was upset, and she had to keep her tone calm and level. "You two have gone through a weakened bond before," she pointed out gently. "It doesn't mean Alec isn't alive. Just that something is blocking you."

She looked to Izzy for confirmation. Granted, Clary didn't know a ton about the parabatai bond, but she figured magic could potentially do something to prevent Jace from sensing Alec.

Izzy didn't say anything, though. She just stood there, visibly trembling, like she could shake apart at any moment.

Clary shook her head resolutely, determined to be the voice of hope for both of them if she had to. "Valentine lies. Alec's gonna be fine."

Jace's eyes had a watery sheen to them as he looked at her. "Clary…Valentine said…" He trailed off, throat bobbing.

She closed the distance between them and put a hand on his arm. "I haven't thanked you for saving Simon. I know you're not his biggest fan, but you risked your life to save his.  _Thank you_." Clary couldn't help but break into a smile. "And I don't know how, but Simon's suddenly immune to daylight."

Jace furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What?" Izzy blurted.

Clary shrugged. "I could hardly believe it myself until he showed me." She squeezed Jace's arm. "My point is, you brought Simon back to me. And I'm going to do everything in my power to bring Alec back to you." She flicked her gaze between Jace and Izzy, promising them both.

Jace opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but then he shut it and his expression became slightly hooded. He nodded mutely.

Now Clary just had to figure out how she was going to keep that promise.


	4. The Descent Into Hell Is Easy

Catarina opened her door before Magnus even had a chance to knock.

"Back so soon?" she said, one hand cocked on her hip. "I told you we'd be fine."

"I know," he quickly appeased. "But I need Madzie's help with something. If she's up for it."

Catarina arched a brow, but stepped back so he could enter. "What can she help you with that I can't?"

"Alec is missing. Valentine claims to have taken him, but won't say where," Magnus explained. "Madzie was with him when he invaded the Institute; maybe she saw what happened."

Catarina's expression softened, and she beckoned Magnus to follow her through the living room to a little window alcove that overlooked a park. Madzie was sitting on some pillows, gazing listlessly at her lap.

"I haven't been able to get her to eat anything yet," Catarina said. "She's pretty upset."

Completely understandable.

"I'll try talking to her," Magnus said, and slowly made his way over. "Hey there, Sweet Pea," he greeted softly. "How are you feeling?"

Madzie bunched her shoulders up in a shrug. "I want my nana."

Magnus's heart twinged with regret. He was the one who sent Iris to the Clave for her crimes.

He gingerly sat down next to the child. "Your nana had to go away for a while," he explained. "But Catarina is going to look after you. She's very nice. We were all friends of Iris."

Once upon a time.

Not that it appeared to make Madzie feel better.

Magnus took a deep breath. "Madzie, do you remember a tall shadowhunter with dark hair at the place the men took you to? He would have had a mark like this on his neck." Magnus traced the deflect rune with his finger along the side of his own neck to show her.

Madzie nodded. "He was nice to me."

Magnus smiled. Of course his sweet Alexander was good with children, even warlock ones. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"The man said we should keep him safe. So I sent him away."

Magnus tensed, fighting the urge to rush her or get his hopes up too early. "Where did you send him?"

She pressed her lips together. "I don't know the place. The other men took him."

"Though a portal you created?"

Madzie nodded, and was quiet for a moment. "He lied, didn't he?" she asked in a small voice.

Magnus's heart clenched. "Yes. But I think you can help me find Alec and bring him home. Will you try?"

Madzie bobbed her head earnestly, and Magnus smiled as he reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Come on, then. Let's see if we can save our friend."

* * *

Isabelle clutched her wrist to her chest, trying desperately to get it to stop shaking. She had to keep it together. Alec needed her.

But she was useless like this, a slave to her addiction. How was she going to help her brother if she couldn't even help herself?

Which was how Isabelle found herself outside Aldertree's office. His door was open and he was inside, eyeing the massive pool of blood on the couch and carpet beneath it.

Isabelle was already feeling nauseous, but her stomach gave a violent lurch as she put the scene together with the knowledge that Simon's throat had been cut. He'd been the one sitting there slowly bleeding out while Valentine threatened Clary to come to the Institute.

Aldertree finally glanced up. "Isabelle," he said in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," she replied, unable to tear her eyes from the bloodstain. Would she find her brother in a similar pool by the time Valentine talked?

Aldertree gave it another look of consternation, but then sighed. "I suppose the mess is someone else's problem now."

Isabelle frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm being recalled to Idris," he replied, moving to his desk where she noticed he had a briefcase set out and appeared to have been in the middle of packing. "To face reprimand for my conduct while Head of this Institute."

Isabelle couldn't muster up a single ounce of pity for him.

He paused and narrowed his gaze on her, and she suddenly felt exposed, vulnerable.

"It appears I didn't give you enough credit for creativity," he said.

Isabelle bristled, hearing the barely veiled reference to her saying she had kicked the yin fen, when she actually hadn't. She hated herself even more for what she was about to do.

"Do you…have any left?" she forced out through gritted teeth.

Victor arched an incredulous brow.

"My brother is missing," she said sharply. "And I need to be strong enough to help find him. If you care at all about what happens to our people, then…" She paused to take a shaky breath. "Try doing one good thing before you go."

Aldertree considered her for a lengthy moment in silence. Isabelle tried to hold herself rigidly still, but her fierceness was belied by the undeniable quaking in her limbs.

Victor finally turned and reached into a hidden compartment in his briefcase, and Isabelle felt a jolt of overwhelming  _need_  at the sight of the tiny box.

Aldertree handed it over. "Isabelle, I'm truly sorry for how things spiraled out of control."

Her fingers crooked around the container, anxious to immediately claw her way into it like its contents were everything that mattered to her in the world. On some level, it was. And that filled her with such self-loathing and regret.

She lifted her chin. "You never should have given this to me. Or to anyone. You were a field medic and you knew better," she accused. "You only wanted me to become your puppet. You know Valentine gives drugs to those he wants to control, too. I guess you're not that much better than him."

Aldertree gave her an aggrieved look. "I'm not like Valentine. Because unlike him, I am truly sorry." He closed his briefcase with a snap. "I wish you the best of luck with finding Alec." He paused and nodded to the container. "Be careful with that."

Isabelle gritted her teeth and didn't deign to respond. She waited until he left before finally allowing herself to frantically dig into the box. It was only half filled with yin fen, and it took every ounce of willpower Isabelle had left to take only the smallest dab and apply it to the back of her neck. Ecstasy instantly washed over her, soothing the shakes and cramps, and she desperately wanted more to reach the same high as previous times. Yin fen wasn't as potent as pure vampire venom.

She snapped the lid closed with a ragged gasp and clenched her fist around the container. No. This wasn't about feeling amazing or avoiding her problems. This was about finding Alec and bringing him home safe.

* * *

Jace paced up and down the length of the training room. He was at his wits' end, sick with worry and frustration over Alec being missing, having activated the Soul Sword that resulted in so many deaths, not having demon blood, and  _not_  being Clary's brother. He felt like his chest was about to implode with all the stress his heart was under right now.

He was even debating whether or not he should break Valentine free before the Inquisitor arrived, and force Valentine to take him to Alec. Yeah, he'd be deemed a traitor to the Clave. Again. But he didn't care. He hadn't cared if they imprisoned him in the City of Bones before, and he didn't care now. As long as Alec was okay.

Jace pivoted toward the corridor that would lead him to the elevator, only to spin back around with a growl. Dammit, what was he supposed to  _do_?

"Jace!" someone called, and he turned to find Magnus and Clary jogging into the cloister.

"I have a way to find where Alec was taken," Magnus said without preamble.

Jace straightened sharply. "How?"

The warlock held up both hands. "I can't be sure he's still there, but it's a place to start. So we should hurry."

"I'll find Izzy and get our weapons," Clary said, and rushed off.

Jace crossed his arms and stepped closer to the warlock. "So how exactly can you find him?"

Magnus canted his head. "Eh, let's just say it's going to take some creative magic," he hedged.

Jace frowned, but didn't press. Whatever Magnus had planned, if it found Alec, then he didn't care.

Clary quickly returned, Izzy in tow.

"Clary said you have a way to track Alec?"

"Not track," Magnus corrected. "But something. Let's go."

He spun on his heel and started striding quickly for the doors. Clary passed Jace his seraph blade as the three of them hurried to keep up. Once outside, Magnus whipped up a portal and ushered them through. Jace started in confusion when they came out in Magnus's loft.

He whirled on the warlock. "What's going on?"

"Madzie," Clary uttered, and Jace turned to see the young warlock child standing next to a low table of spell ingredients. There was another woman, presumably a warlock, sitting on the couch further back.

"Madzie's the one Valentine used to break through the Institute's wards," Magnus quickly explained. "It's not her fault, but I doubt the Clave will see it that way, so I'm keeping her out of it." He paused to skewer Jace with a meaningful look.

Jace's mouth turned down, but he nodded that he understood—and he had no intention of incarcerating a child who was as much a victim as anyone else.

Magnus's shoulders lost some of their tension, and he nodded in return as he turned to the child. "Valentine had Madzie send his men and Alec through a portal. Now, she doesn't know where they went, but since it was the last portal she opened up, she can recreate it, and then with my help, we can pick up the trace psychic signature of the destination."

Jace lifted his brows, then shook his head; he could barely follow that explanation, but as long as it worked, he didn't need to understand the mechanics. "Okay, do it."

Magnus nodded grimly. "I don't know how many Circle members might be there," he said. "So we go in guns blazing."

Jace and Izzy exchanged a look, but Clary drew her blade, which Jace took to mean going in ready for a fight. He hefted his own sword up. Izzy's whip slithered down her wrist.

Magnus knelt down in front of Madzie. "Ready, Sweet Pea?"

She gave a solemn nod, and then stretched her arm out, shooting a burst of golden light from her palm that swirled into a portal. Magnus reached for a spell bowl on the table behind them and started uttering an incantation. Jace held his breath, muscles tensing with anticipation and adrenaline.

Magnus's voice droned on for several lines, making Jace nervous. This had to work.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide and Magnus leaped to his feet. "I got it." He waved his hand, and the portal rippled. "Good girl, Madzie. You stay with Catarina now."

The woman on the couch opened her arms, and Madzie went running into them. "Good luck!" she called.

Magnus gave her a sharp nod, then turned to the others resolutely. When he marched through the portal, they followed on his heels.

They exited into a dimly lit building that was either a warehouse or garage. Circle members immediately came charging out from the shadows with a chorus of battle cries.

Jace ducked under the swing of the one nearest him, and drove his blade straight through the man's sternum. He yanked it out with a squelch and spun to meet the next attack. The discordant screech of adamas filled the air, along with the snap of Izzy's whip. Crackling red plasma balls exploded with blinding ferocity as Magnus unleashed his fury on the rogue shadowhunters.

But despite their berserk fighting styles and empowered runes, these amateurs lacked proper training and technique, having only been made shadowhunters a few weeks ago. Between the four of them, they made quick work of their enemies, until the last one fell in a bloody heap and the sounds of battle died down.

Jace was breathing heavily as he whipped his gaze around, poised for more. The place was silent, though.

Until a muffled voice sounded from the next room.

"Over here."

Jace exchanged a look with the others, and then raised his sword as they converged on the door, which led into another large space. There were wire cages in the back.

"Cleophas," Clary breathed.

Jace slowed at the sight of the Iron Sister. She may have been behind bars, but she was a traitor as far as he was concerned.

"I know you're not here for me." She cocked her head to the other cage, and Jace's heart dropped into his stomach when he finally spotted Alec.

Letting his sword clatter to the floor, he rushed forward and yanked at the cage door. It was padlocked.

"Here," Clary said urgently, pushing in front of him with her stele and drawing an unlock rune.

The padlock clicked open, and Jace wrenched it off before flinging the door wide and clambering into the small space. "Alec!"

Alec was slumped against the back wall, knees drawn up and forehead pressed to the concrete slab. Sickly black veins forked out across his face and neck, just as they had with Dot. Jace wondered if that was why the bond had been so blunted. Alec's eyes were open to no more than slits, and his mouth was moving soundlessly.

Jace's stomach did a flip, and he sank down in front of his parabatai. "Alec.  _Alec_." He reached out and cupped the sides of his brother's face.

Alec finally stilled, and lifted his head just a fraction. Jace could have wept at the glassy, distant look in his eyes.

"It's okay, Alec. I'm here."

" _Facilis descensus Averno_ ," he rasped.

Jace's heart twisted with grief, and he pulled Alec into a fierce, protective embrace. "It's okay, I got you. You're okay. You're gonna be okay."

Alec let out a shuddering breath and continued to whisper, " _Facilis descensus Averno_."

The descent into Hell is easy.

It was climbing back out that was the hard part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love! (Plus I've had a really crappy week and comments brighten my day as much as I hope my updating a chapter does for anyone reading.)


	5. Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much again to everyone who took the time to leave a comment on the last chapter! It brightened my day, and I'm glad to know people are enjoying this.

Isabelle clutched her hands in front of her mouth as she watched the medics transfer Alec to a patient bed in the infirmary and immediately start assessing him. He'd lost consciousness during the trip through the portal back to the Institute, and Isabelle couldn't get the image of a corpse out of her head as she stared at the Stygian veins marring her brother's too pale skin.

She felt sick, her words to Aldertree earlier echoing back in her ears. She'd compared him to Valentine because of the drugs they knew he used on warlocks and other downworlders. But never would she have imagined her brother would have been subjected to them.

The medics started attaching lines and cords to Alec, and the monitors above his head came to life with different colored squiggles and beeping, all erratic. Isabelle watched someone activate his iratze, but the vitals didn't change. The medics shared a look that sent chills down Isabelle's spine.

"We've never seen anything like this," one of them said to the anxiously waiting group.

"It has to be from Valentine's injections," Clary responded, and she turned to Magnus urgently. "What about that potion you made Dot?"

Magnus's eyes were filled with worry, and he slowly shook his head. "That was to help steady her magic to aid in her healing. It won't work for a shadowhunter."

"I fear nothing will," Sister Cleophas spoke up from the back. "Valentine's men were fools who grew impatient. They gave him too much of the injection at once."

Isabelle stiffened.

"What does that mean?" Clary asked.

Sister Cleophas gave them all a grave look. "I do not know."

The head medic cleared her throat. "It's like a demon blood infection. But with how widespread it is throughout his system…"

Isabelle's stomach cramped as she remembered her shoulder wound, the infection that wouldn't heal, and how it had led her down a road that had tainted her blood further with demonic impurities. She could have died in the purity trial at the Citadel. And now Alec…oh god, he didn't deserve this.

"There has to be something more you can do," Jace demanded harshly.

"We'll call for the Silent Brothers. But for now, all we can do is wait for the drugs to leave his system…and hope that's enough." She shook her head and glanced morosely at her patient. "With the way it's attacking his brain…I'm sorry. I don't think the odds are good."

"You don't know Alec," Jace instantly responded.

The medic canted her head to yield to the statement, and then she and the team excused themselves. They still had other patients from the attack to attend to.

Magnus immediately strode to the side of the bed. "I may not have potions that will work, but perhaps my magic can do something." With a snap of his fingers, he summoned up blue flames in his hand and began pushing his healing magic into Alec's lax form.

"You should see Luke," Clary mentioned softly to Cleophas. "He was injured in the attack, but he's gonna be okay. He's been worried about you."

Sister Cleophas gave a grateful nod, and Clary led her away.

Isabelle wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Bile sloshed in her stomach, and her legs were beginning to turn to gelatin again. The yin fen had gotten her through the battle, but seeing Alec like this…she couldn't take it.

She swiftly turned and fled the infirmary, practically running back to her room before a scream could tear its way from her throat. This shouldn't have happened. Alec shouldn't be fighting for his life, not from something like this.

Isabelle slammed her door shut and nearly collapsed against her dresser, knocking over several makeup items. With shaking hands, she fumbled through her top drawer for the box of yin fen, yet as soon as she wrenched the lid open and looked at the delicate cream inside, a wave of disgust and self-loathing surged through her. It was because of this that Isabelle hadn't been there to prevent her brother from being taken and experimented on.

She snapped the lid closed and threw the container at the wall, sinking to the floor in a mess of sobs.

How had they come to this?

* * *

Alec woke to the sensation of fire licking across his limbs, and he couldn't hold back a cry of pain as his muscles spasmed in response. Something cool and fizzy immediately washed over his legs and up his torso, soothing some of the agony. It felt…familiar.

Alec snapped his eyes open to find Magnus standing over him, hands wreathed in hazy blue energy. "Magnus," he gasped.

"Shh, I'm right here, Alexander. You're safe. You're back at the Institute."

Alec barely spared a thought for his surroundings, though he vaguely recognized the look of the walls behind Magnus. "You're alive," he breathed. "I thought- when I heard them talking about the Soul Sword, I was terrified that…"

Magnus's expression softened, and he moved one hand to settle it on Alec's brow. "I'm all right. I got Madzie out in time."

"Alec," spoke another voice he'd know anywhere, and he turned his head to see Jace on his other side. Jace's eyes were red-rimmed and he looked distraught…but Alec couldn't feel that for sure. All he could feel was fire and ice in rapid succession of each other.

He bit back a moan as a violent shiver ripped through him. "What happened?" he managed to ask.

"Valentine wanted to activate the Soul Sword with the angelic core," Jace began to explain. "We thought he needed Clary because of her angel blood, and that I could destroy it with my demon blood." He paused, and his voice choked up. "But Valentine lied. I don't have demon blood, and I was the one who activated the sword. A lot…a lot of downworlders died."

Alec looked at Magnus again. Not him, though. Magnus was alive.

Magnus smiled softly. "We found you with Madzie's help. The sword has been deactivated, and Valentine apprehended. Now you just need to focus on recovering."

Alec blinked a few times. He was having trouble processing all of this information. Jace, and the sword, and…

_Valentine._

_Valentine._

Valentine was captured…and needed to be freed.

Alec flinched violently and the monitors blared with alarms. "No!"

"Alec?" Jace's eyes widened with worry, and he tried to grab Alec's arms to hold him still.

Alec twisted to get away. "No. I don't- I won't help him."

"What? Of course—"

"It's the drugs talking," Magnus interrupted. "Alexander, listen to me. They will wear off."

Alec shook his head frantically. "No. No, you have to restrain me. Or lock me up."

"We are not tying you up, Alec," Jace said sternly. "You're sick. And you're not going to free Valentine."

"You don't know that," he argued, pleaded. They didn't understand. They didn't feel these…sick, twisted susurrations whispering in his head. What if he tried to hurt them?

"I know  _you_ ," Jace countered. "Alec." He captured Alec's face between his hands and pressed their foreheads together. "Trust me. I'm your parabatai. You can beat this.  _Facilis descensus Averno_."

The words he'd clung to when there was nothing else in that pit of darkness suddenly felt hollow in the wake of feeling like he was finally breaking apart. Alec grasped at Jace's arms desperately. "I can't feel the bond," he confessed, voice cracking.

Jace let out a shuddering breath. "I know. That's the drugs, too. It'll get better once they're out of your system."

Alec shook his head again. He could feel it, deep down, the way the poison had burrowed into his very core and seemed to be whittling away at his soul, bit by bit. What if he'd been changed permanently on a fundamental level? Would his runes even work anymore? Maybe that was why the parabatai bond was weak, and soon it would fade completely.

"You will get through this, Alec," Jace said with staunch resolve, as though he could still read Alec's thoughts.

Alec wanted to believe him. But all he could think about was what his parents would think of him now, how this taint was just another disgrace he'd bring to the family name. How he'd been so furious that Aldertree had gotten Izzy addicted to yin fen, and then how she'd turned to a vampire to keep it going. He couldn't judge her now.

He couldn't do anything except grit his teeth and bear the burn.

And pray there was something of him left over after all was said and done.

* * *

Magnus pushed his healing magic into Alec, trying to ease his pain. But it was clear by the grimaces on his face and small whimpers, even in fevered sleep, that it wasn't doing much. Frustrated, he let a small burst of magic explode in anger, blowing up a nearby glass of water.

Alec flinched awake, eyelids fluttering furiously.

Magnus immediately chastised himself. "Easy, Alexander. I'm sorry for waking you."

"I's okay," he slurred.

Magnus's shoulders sagged wearily. "I wish I could do more to take the pain away." He reached out and gently brushed some of Alec's hair back.

Alec feebly lifted a hand to capture Magnus's in his own and squeezed. "You being here is enough."

It wasn't, not nearly enough when Alec was suffering, but Magnus didn't argue.

Alec's grip was weak, yet he still held on with a touch of urgency. "Every mission I've ever been on…even this, the drugs and not knowing what's going to happen…"

"You're going to get better," Magnus interrupted.

Alec ignored that and plowed on. "I've never felt the type of fear I did when I didn't know if you were alive or dead." He let out a shaky breath. "Magnus, I love you."

Magnus gazed at him in wonder, and cupped his cheek. "I love you, too."

Alec relaxed for a second, but then another wave of pain struck, and his face scrunched up under the brutality of it. Magnus instantly summoned up his magic, fiery blue fingers tracing down Alec's jawline and easing him into a semi-restful sleep. His heart clenched that it was all he could do.

Alec was right; there was nothing like the fear of losing someone you loved. Magnus had never wanted to open himself to such vulnerability again. But Alec had broken down his wards and won his heart.

To love a mortal meant that he would have to face losing them one day.

Magnus just never thought it could be so soon after finding his Alexander.

Heels clacked behind him, and he turned to find Isabelle standing in the doorway. Her complexion was pasty and drawn, and her bracelet jangled slightly with the intensity of her wrist's shaking. Magnus's heart fractured further that he had forgotten about her in the wake of finding Alec. She had been completely composed for the rescue mission, but looking back, he should have put two and two together.

"Oh, Isabelle."

"How is he?" she asked stiffly, pointedly ignoring his concern.

Magnus sighed, and looked back at Alec. "The Silent Brothers and I have done all we can. We just have to wait for the drugs to leave his system and…go from there."

He didn't say that the excess serum was putting undo strain on Alec's body, and that it might not wear off in time before more damage was done. But they'd deal with complications as they developed.

Isabelle nodded, throat bobbing. She stepped forward, but rather than going to her brother, she touched Magnus's elbow and drew him aside. "I'm going to sweat out the yin fen," she said quietly.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise at the abrupt declaration.

"If Alec asks where I am, tell him I'm getting clean. But don't tell anyone else."

Magnus furrowed his brow. "Isabelle, I commend you for doing this, but it won't be easy. You'll need support."

She shook her head stubbornly. "Alec needs everyone right now."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "You both do."

Isabelle lifted her chin. "If Alec can do this, so can I."

She took a quivering breath, and held a clenched hand out to him. Magnus frowned as she slowly pried her fingers open, revealing a small box. His raised his eyebrows as he guessed what it contained.

It looked as though it took every ounce of willpower for Isabelle to hand him the supply of yin fen, and he carefully removed it from her outstretched palm, then gave her an encouraging nod.

Trembling more prominently now, Isabelle took a forced step back, and then went over to Alec and laid a soft kiss on his brow. "Keep fighting, big brother," she whispered. "I'll see you on the other side."

Magnus watched her pull herself away and walk out, his heart breaking for both Lightwood children. He clenched his fist around the yin fen container and stowed it away. As a warlock and downworlder, demon blood was a part of his nature, his essence. Yet Alec had never judged him for it. Nor Isabelle. They were the generation of shadowhunters who fought to defend the Downworld, not out of duty, but loyalty and friendship.

And Magnus couldn't help but curse a universe that would see them broken for it.


	6. Do Not Go Gently

Jace pulled Alec's shirt up and drew an iratze over his heart. The rune, which was supposed to have been stronger for a parabatai having drawn it, flared briefly, but ended up doing nothing to alleviate the high fever or spasms of pain wracking Alec's body. Magnus's magic wasn't working anymore, either, and they were both frustrated by their helplessness.

Alec tossed his head from side to side, mussing his damp hair on the pillow. He kept muttering the shadowhunter sacred oath in his delirium.

Jace put a hand on top of Alec's head, trying to still him, and leaned down to speak in his ear. "You're safe, Alec. You're home. You didn't break."

But his words, just like his runes, couldn't seem to penetrate the fiery dreams Alec was trapped in.

"Why aren't the drugs wearing off?" he asked Magnus. If anything, the malignant black veins in Alec's skin were just as dark, as though they were physical barbs digging into his flesh and refusing to let go.

Magnus lifted eyes filled with crushing grief. "I don't know. Valentine didn't make his serum for use on shadowhunters. It's like the drugs are mutating, and wreaking havoc on his system as they go."

Jace looked away as his eyes prickled with stinging hot moisture. No, he couldn't lose Alec. He clenched his fists. "Valentine must have a cure."

"I doubt he bothered to think of one. If any of his experiments died, he'd just go out and find new ones."

"Then I'll make him create one!"

Magnus just looked at him, and Jace broke eye contact again. Yelling at Magnus wasn't helping things. Plus, Alec would reprimand him for it.

And letting Valentine out of his cell and into a lab to perform more experiments was a disaster waiting to happen. But what else were they supposed to do? Watch Alec die?

Someone cleared their throat, and Jace startled to find Luke in the doorway.

"I wanted to see how Alec was doing," the Alpha said, coming to stand at the foot of the bed. His gait showed no trace of the wound he'd previously borne. "But apparently the answer is not good." He gave Alec a truly grieved look.

"He's still hanging in there," Magnus said.

Jace shook his head, jaw clenching. But for how much longer? His parabatai rune was simmering with heat, a fraction of what he knew Alec was experiencing.

Luke's expression was grim. "Cleophas disappeared. I'm sure she didn't want to be around when the Inquisitor showed up." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a vial of treacly looking black liquid. "But she left me a sample of Valentine's serum. Maybe examining it can help you find a way to help Alec."

Jace straightened. "Izzy can get right on that. She's our best forensic analyst."

"No," Magnus said abruptly.

Jace shot him a bewildered look, further taken aback by the slightly panicked edge in the warlock's expression.

"I'm sorry for not mentioning it before," Magnus quickly went on. "Isabelle came down with the flu quite suddenly. All the stress. She's resting."

Jace frowned. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She didn't want to worry anyone and take attention away from Alec."

Jace quirked a confused look at Magnus, feeling as though he was missing something.

Luke had a pensive set to his jaw. "Maia's studying marine biology. It's not an exact qualification, but it might be the next best thing we've got."

"I'm sure Maia hates me for activating the sword," Jace put in bitterly. "She won't help."

"That wasn't your fault," Luke said firmly. "And I'll talk to Maia. This isn't about personal vendettas; it's about saving a life."

Jace was skeptical that such an argument would sway the angry werewolf chick, but if Izzy really was down for the count, then they needed a backup.

"A sample of Alec's blood would be useful as well," Luke added.

Jace nodded mutely as he grabbed a vial and detached the IV line in Alec's arm so he could extract some blood. He handed it over to Luke, then flushed the line with saline before reattaching it.

Luke tucked both samples into his coat pocket. "I'll let you know if we come up with anything."

And with that, he left. Jace turned back to Alec, who was still moaning fitfully in his febrile state. He went to the sink and filled a basin with water, then returned and snatched a small towel out of the cabinet next to the bed. After soaking it in the water and wringing it out, he ran it across Alec's forehead and down the sides of his neck.

_"Don't leave me, Alec,"_  he silently prayed, hoping that maybe Alec could hear him through the bond, even though it didn't quite work that way.

Magnus sank into the chair on the other side of the bed and clasped Alec's hand in both of his, squeezing tightly as though he could somehow anchor him.

Jace's heart splintered. For all of their combined strength and prowess, they were well and truly helpless.

* * *

Clary made her way to Isabelle's room. She hadn't seen her in the infirmary with Alec at all, and that was so uncharacteristic that Clary was starting to feel concerned. Everyone was worried about Alec, but it wasn't like Izzy to hide away when her family needed her. Jace said that Magnus had told him Izzy had the flu, but that seemed strange, too. Clary wasn't an expert, but she thought a simple iratze could take care of the worst symptoms.

She made it to Izzy's door and knocked softly. There was no response. She rapped louder. "Izzy?"

Nothing.

Clary tried the handle, only to find it locked. Her heart rate started to pick up. "Izzy, it's Clary. Open up," she called, trying to keep the panic from her voice.

When there was still no answer after several moments, Clary shook her head. To hell with this. She pulled out her stele and drew an unlock rune on the door. As soon as the lock clicked, she burst inside, only to lurch to a stop in shock as Isabelle came staggering out of the bathroom. Her pallor was pasty and ashen, eyes practically sunken inside dark circles that weren't only made of smudged mascara, and sweat seemed to be streaming out of every pore. She stumbled drunkenly to the bed, tripping onto the mattress.

"Oh my god," Clary uttered, and rushed forward. "Izzy."

Isabelle flinched away from her. "Clary, what- get out."

Clary's brows shot upward, but she shook off the abrupt remark. "This does not look like the flu. Come on, we need to get you to the infirmary." She reached down to help Isabelle up, but Izzy pushed her away.

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine." She shook her head and started to pull out her phone. "I'm calling Jace."

"I said leave it, Clary!"

Her thumbs stilled mid text message, and she studied Isabelle more closely. She was shaking violently, her eyes were bloodshot…things that rang a familiar— _mundane_ —bell, that Clary almost couldn't believe what it looked like.

"Izzy, what's going on?"

Isabelle started shaking her head. "I need to get out of here," she sniffled, and tripped trying to stand up.

And then Magnus strode in. He pulled up short at the sight of them. "Oh."

"Magnus," Clary said urgently. "Something's wrong with Izzy."

His expression shifted from surprise to grim understanding. "Yin fen withdrawal is a brutal process."

"Yin what?" Clary whipped her gaze between Magnus and Izzy. Withdrawal?

Izzy shot Magnus a pained, pleading look, but quickly bowed forward with a groan.

Magnus shut the door behind him. "Yin fen is a Downworld, black market drug. Very potent and very addictive."

Clary looked at Izzy with wide eyes.

"After I got injured by that demon," Izzy gasped out. "I wasn't healing properly. Aldertree gave me yin fen so I could get back out in the field. I didn't- I didn't know what it was when he gave it to me."

Clary's eyes widened in horror. "That bastard." If Aldertree hadn't left already, Clary would have marched into his office and ripped him a new one.

She took a step forward, intending to comfort her friend, but Izzy snapped at her to stay back.

Isabelle then turned begging eyes to Magnus. "I can't do it," she broke down. "I need the yin fen back.  _Please_."

Magnus shook his head. "Isabelle, you've come too far to turn back now."

"You don't understand! I just need a little, just a little to take the edge off."

"It doesn't work that way," he said remorsefully. "You just have to get through the worst of it."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can," Clary interjected. "You're one of the strongest shadowhunters I know."

"People need to stop saying that!" she shrieked. "If I was strong, I would have stopped the moment I found out what the yin fen was. I would have been at the Institute with Alec when Valentine attacked, and I would have been there to protect my brother." Izzy shook her head and took a lumbering step toward the door. "I'll go to Raphael. We can work things out. He can help me."

Magnus stepped into her path. "Isabelle, no. That is not the answer."

Clary didn't know how Raphael was supposed to 'help' her, but it didn't sound like the good kind of help.

Izzy tried to push past him, but he didn't budge, and instead took her by the arms. Isabelle descended into a series of wild, flailing smacks, but her blows were pitifully weak and didn't even seem to hurt the warlock. Tears sprang to Clary's eyes as she leaped in to help, and together they steered Izzy back to the bed.

"Let me go!"

Clary stumbled onto the mattress and drew Izzy into her arms as she broke down into wracking sobs. A spiky lump stuck painfully in Clary's throat, and her eyes watered to the point she couldn't see, but she just held tightly to her friend.

Magnus gazed down at them, eyes filled with equal anguish. "I'll be right back," he said softly. "I may have something that can help."

Clary heard the door snick shut as he quietly excused himself. She stayed where she was, rocking Isabelle and running a hand up and down her back. It was several long minutes before her sobs petered out to faint sniffles.

Clary's heart clenched. "I wish you had told me."

Isabelle sniffed. "I wanted to believe I could handle it," she said hoarsely.

Clary slowly drew back and brushed lank strands of hair from Isabelle's face. "You  _are_  strong, Izzy. But being strong doesn't mean you have to handle things on your own. It means when we stick together, we're unstoppable."

Her eyes were red from crying, and she dropped her gaze to her lap. "Alec tried to help me, and I pushed him away. I pushed him away and now I may never get the chance to make things right with him."

"Don't think like that," Clary argued. "You and Alec are both strong. You  _can_  beat this."

Isabelle fell silent at that.

A few minutes later, Magnus slipped back into the room with a tiny vial and dropper.

"Here," he said. "This should help with the symptoms."

Izzy gave it a leery look.

"Non habit forming," he quickly assured her. "And it won't make the pain go away completely, but it should take that edge off."

Isabelle hesitantly scooted to the edge of the bed, and opened her mouth as Magnus deposited a single drop on her tongue. Clary watched intently, and immediately saw some of the tension loosen from her shoulders.

Isabelle let out a shaky breath. "That does help," she rasped. "Thank you."

Magnus nodded.

Clary stood up and helped Izzy ease back against the pillows, then sat next to her again and squeezed her hand. She was still trembling and looked deathly ill, but Clary had to believe Izzy could get through this. She had to believe that Alec would get through it, too.

Because they were her family, and she couldn't lose them.

* * *

Jace leaned forward, elbows on his knees and chin braced on his hands as he watched Alec's life slowly eke out with each strained, shallow breath. The vital signs on the monitor that had been rapid and erratic before had now fallen to sluggish rhythms that decreased in minute increments every half hour or so. The fever that still raged inside him had sapped his strength, leaving him almost deathly still and unable to fight off the infection.

Alec was losing the battle against Valentine's poison.

Jace's eyes stung with unshed tears. Luke had called to say Maia hadn't found a cure yet, but her tests revealed that the potency of the serum increased exponentially in more concentrated quantities, and it was hitting Alec so much harder than it had Dot because warlocks already had elements of demon blood in their genetics. But for shadowhunters…Alec's cells were deteriorating on the microscopic level so that not even their runes could keep up with the degeneration.

Jace thought it a cruel twist of fate that the day he found out he didn't have demon blood, his brother had been injected with it. He would rather it be him. He would rather carry the stain of being Valentine's experiment with demon blood than have Alec dying from the same. After all the secrets and lies and revelations, Jace hadn't thought Valentine could take anything else from him.

He was wrong.

Alec's breaths came in short, wet rattles that felt like lances through Jace's heart. A fire message had been sent to Robert and Maryse, but they had yet to arrive from Idris. Jace assumed they wouldn't be allowed to come until the Inquisitor was on her way as well. He didn't know if Alec could hold on that long.

He also had no idea where Izzy, Clary, and Magnus had gotten to. Jace started to worry that they weren't here, but as long as the Institute's alarms weren't blaring that they were under attack, he was too afraid to leave Alec's side and go look for them.

There was a soft throat clearing from the doorway. "Jace, uh, hey."

He didn't even bother looking over at Simon as the vampire entered and slowly approached.

"How's Alec?"

"Not good," Jace said thickly.

"But he'll be fine, right? I mean eventually?"

Jace's throat constricted, and he choked on the urge to snap that no, Alec wasn't going to be fine. He was dying.

But Jace couldn't admit that yet. Because admitting it meant accepting it, and he was not ready to accept that Alec wasn't going to still pull through somehow.

"I don't know," Jace said instead.

Silence fell between them save for the drone of the heart monitor.

"If you're looking for Clary, I don't know where—"

"No," Simon interrupted. "There's, uh, something I wanted to tell you." He glanced around the otherwise empty infirmary, and still lowered his voice. "No matter what, your secret's safe with me."

Jace gave him a bland look. "What secret?"

"You know," Simon gestured at him. "How your pure angelic blood somehow made me immune to the sun."

"You don't know that's what happened," he countered. Not that he had another explanation for it. Truthfully, though, he hadn't given it any thought.

"What else could it be?" Simon argued. "My point is, if any vampire were to find out, there'd be a bullseye on your carotid artery."

Jace straightened. What were the odds that it  _wasn't_  him feeding Simon his angelic blood that made the vampire immune to sunlight? In order for that to happen, there had to have been some kind of purification process involved, something that either neutralized that part of the vampire's demonic cells…or strengthened them against the sun's destructive rays.

"You have nothing to worry about," Simon went on. "I got your back."

Jace was barely listening. He felt like he'd just been struck by a bolt of lightning. If his angel blood could purify a vampire against sunlight…then maybe it could purify Alec's blood against the poison currently destroying him.

He surged to his feet.

Simon gave him a goofy half smile and spread his arms. "Get in here."

Jace blinked. "What? Stop it."

"I thought—"

"No. Never," Jace fired off. "Watch the door and make sure no one comes in here."

"Uh, okay. Why?"

"Just do this for me, Simon," he snapped, going to the medical supply cabinet and rifling through its contents. He grabbed some fresh IV tubing and catheters, and rushed back to Alec where he dumped the supplies on the bed and started ripping the packages open. He then rolled up his sleeve and tied a tourniquet around his bicep.

"What are you doing?" Simon asked from where he'd positioned himself near the closed door and drawn the blinds.

"If you're right and my pure angelic blood did make you immune," Jace started, sliding a needle into the vein at the crook of his elbow. "Then maybe it can save Alec."

He retracted the needle, leaving the cannula in, and attached the new IV tubing. He then disconnected Alec's line from the saline and connected it to the other end of Jace's. Lastly, he released the catch, and bright red blood began to fill the tubing.

_Please, please let this work_.

Simon fidgeted at the door. "How much time do you need?"

Jace watched the blood slowly make its way down the line and into Alec's arm. "I don't know. Fifteen minutes, maybe?"

Simon met his gaze and gave him a determined nod. "I'll make sure no one comes in."

"Simon. Thanks."

The vamp quirked a small smile at him, and then slipped outside.

Jace turned all his attention to the task at hand—saving his brother. With his one arm feeding life blood into Alec, Jace used his other to pull out his stele and drew an iratze over Alec's heart again. He activated Alec's stamina rune next, to give him an extra boost of strength for one last stand.

Jace vowed that Valentine wouldn't win this time. He'd had Jace believing that he was poison to those he cared about. But he wasn't. Valentine was the poison. And Jace…Jace could be the cure.


	7. The Strength of Our Hearts

It took Alec what felt like ages to wade through the mire of burning brimstone he'd been trapped in for so long. But eventually he somehow escaped into a numbing void, cold and quiet. The emptiness stretched around him, and he lingered there for a bit, just relieved to have a respite from the torture. Valentine's whispers couldn't reach him here.

He was tired, and though he wasn't really moving, the abyss itself seemed to be sliding beneath him, like a glass river carrying him farther and farther away from the echoes of fire and malevolent voices. He should probably just let it.

A spark flickered in the dark, then steadily grew. Alec watched it with mild detachment, until it flared brighter and started to come closer, and he was afraid the hellfire was coming for him again.

" _Alec,_ " it spoke into the void, and his parabatai rune began to glow warm.

He squinted against the harsh glare. "Jace?"

Like an angel stepping out of a sun, his parabatai emerged, wreathed in blazing white light that framed his silhouette in a halo of abstract wings. It almost hurt to look at him.

"Alec, come back."

He frowned. Back that way was fire and agony and corruption seeking to undo his soul. He glanced over his shoulder at the peaceful darkness, and shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know…"

"Do you trust me?" Jace asked earnestly.

"Of course." Alec didn't even have to think about it.

Jace held out his hand to him. Alec wavered, though he couldn't say why. Fear that this was just some sort of mind game? Whether by Valentine's drugs or his own desperate mind clawing at itself for salvation.

"Entreat me not to leave thee," Jace said, his tone and eyes pleading. "Or to return from following after thee."

Alec's heart clenched, and he took a deep breath. "For whither thou goest, I will go," he recited.

Even through the fire.

He moved forward to clasp his brother's arm, and the moment he did, that blazing nova behind Jace surged forward to envelop them in a cascading swirl of light and heat. Unlike the scorching flames from before, though, this was warm and secure and…cleansing.

Alec felt himself sink into the soothing embrace. He couldn't see Jace anymore through the divine radiance, but he felt him. His brother's stalwart and unwavering presence was all around him, like a shield. Like a guardian angel. Peace lulled Alec into a restful sleep.

The next time he woke, it was to heavy limbs and the scent of fresh linen. He pried his eyelids open with great effort, blinking at the smudged blobs of his surroundings. It took a moment for his vision to gradually clear, and when it did, he recognized the ceiling and walls of his bedroom at the Institute.

He started to shift, and bit back a wince at the slightest movement. He ached all over, though at least it was a dull pain now instead of the spears of lightning from before. And though he was pretty sure he'd been sleeping for a long while, he still felt utterly spent.

His gaze drifted down to a head of dark wavy hair pillowed on the side of his bed. "Izzy," he whispered, lifting a hand weakly to touch her head.

She startled awake and whipped her gaze toward him. "Alec," she breathed, clasping his hand between hers. "Oh, thank the angel."

His brow furrowed a fraction as he took in her ragged appearance: the dark circles under her eyes and the tangles in her unwashed hair. She wasn't even wearing makeup.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Izzy shook her head in what looked like fond exasperation. "I'm fine." She gave him a tired smile. "I'm clean now, Alec. We both are."

It took his brain another moment to put that together, and when it did, he felt a wave of regret. "Iz, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she squeezed his hand tighter. "No, Alec, you have nothing to apologize for. You tried to help, and I wouldn't let you. I was the one who let my addiction get the better of me, and because of that, I wasn't there when you needed me."

Alec shook his head against the pillow. "I'm glad you weren't at the Institute. You could have been killed."

Izzy sighed. "Well, the important thing is we're both going to be okay."

Alec felt a faint tug in his side, and immediately looked toward the door as Jace came into the room. Relief washed through him. He could feel their bond again.

Jace's eyes were shining with equal elation. "Welcome back."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

Jace smiled. "You did the hard part. You held on." They reached for each other's hand simultaneously, clasping in fervent solidarity. Alec still felt an echo of warm, radiant, light. And the shadows of Valentine Morgenstern were silent.

* * *

Isabelle sat by her brother's bedside and carded her fingers through his hair. He'd drifted off into a peaceful sleep not long after waking up, still exhausted from his ordeal. Those horrible black veins were completely gone, signaling that the poison had at last been purged.

From both of them.

"How are you holding up?" Jace asked softly.

"Okay," she replied, then shrugged. "It's gonna be one day at a time for a while."

She'd come clean to Jace about the yin fen addiction after she'd gotten through the worst of the withdrawal and they'd learned that Alec's vitals were finally starting to improve. Clary was right, she didn't have to do this on her own.

"How about you?" she asked.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't really know what to make of everything that's happened." His mouth thinned, and he lowered his voice. "Valentine told me I'm not his son, that Clary's not my sister."

Isabelle's brows shot upward. " _What_? How can you be sure he wasn't lying?"

"Truth sword."

She shook her head in dismay. Of all the things to lie about, and the demon blood…Valentine really was a sick, twisted bastard.

"Have you told Clary yet?"

Jace inhaled sharply. "No. And I'm not going to."

"What? Why not? She deserves to know the truth."

Jace shook his head staunchly. "You know, she's lost so much. She's got a good thing going with Simon. They're even out on a real date right now since he's immune to daylight. You know I wouldn't wanna ruin that."

Isabelle shot him a dry look. "You think you're so irresistible she's gonna dump him as soon as she finds out you're not related?"

Jace rolled his eyes. "Let's stop worrying about my love life and focus on more important matters."

Isabelle smirked, but gave him an adoring smile. "Alec and I are gonna be fine."

Jace's eyes went to their brother, still sleeping deeply. "I know." He came around the foot of the bed and planted a kiss in her hair. "Get some rest."

Isabelle watched him leave, and then she crawled up onto the bed next to Alec and laid her head on his chest, letting the rhythm of his steady,  _strong_ , heartbeat lull her into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Magnus stepped out of the portal and into the corridor outside his loft, overnight bag in hand. Alec exited after him.

"This really isn't necessary," the shadowhunter groused.

"You deserve a vacation, Alexander. You're still recovering."

"I feel fine." He let out a frustrated sound. "I can't believe I'm being exiled from the Institute."

Magnus smirked. "Yes, because a few days with me is such torture."

Alec huffed. "I'm sorry. Of course it will be nice to spend some time together. But I could have also gotten some work done if you'd let me pack some reports."

Magnus waggled a finger at him. "Sorry. I am under strict orders from your siblings that you are to take it easy."

Alec rolled his eyes.

Magnus's grin only widened. He was going to enjoy the challenge of making Alexander forget all about work…

He opened the doors of his loft with a snap of his fingers and strode inside, setting the duffel bag down next to the decorative cabinet. "By the way, there's a special someone who wanted to see you."

Alec quirked a confused brow, but at that moment, Madzie came bounding out of the back room, and ran straight into Alec's arms.

"Madzie!" he exclaimed, absolutely beaming at the sight of her, and he dropped down to one knee to swallow her whole in a massive hug. Magnus's heart was fit to burst.

"I'm sorry I listened to the bad man," she said.

Alec rubbed her back. "Oh, that's not your fault. He tricked you. But look, no harm done." He spread his arms to show her he was fine.

Madzie gave him a shy smile, then took his hand and started to tug him toward the living room. Magnus walked over to where Catarina was standing in the back, arms crossed and grinning as she watched warlock child and shadowhunter settle on the couch. Alec's face was radiant with one of the biggest smiles Magnus had ever seen on him as Madzie showed him her dolls and he asked her animated questions that had her giggling.

"He's not like most shadowhunters," Catarina commented.

Magnus smiled. "No, he's not. Alexander is a true angel if there ever was one."

And oh, how Magnus loved him. He had come so close to losing Alec, but the man he loved had a fire in him that could not be extinguished.

All of the Lightwood children did. Alec, Isabelle, Jace, and even Clary, had shown great courage and fortitude in the face of adversity.

And it made them stronger for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it! Comments are love.


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